Revving Up: The US Open Chainsaw Championships return

EAU CLAIRE — The distinct sounds of chainsaw motors surrounded Carson Park this weekend as the US Open Chainsaw Championships returned to the Chippewa Valley.

Since 2009, competitors from around the country and the world have descended upon Eau Claire for one weekend in August to show off their skills, carving lumber into beautifully detailed works of art. The competitors started their pieces on Thursday and concluded with Sunday afternoon’s judging and an auction of pieces created during the event.

“It’s our big fundraising event of the year,” said Dustyn Dubuque, the event’s coordinator and development manager at the Chippewa Valley Museum, describing having inherited the event after merging with the Wisconsin Logging Museum. “They were the ones that used to put it on, but the last two years, it’s been our event.”

Although the event began with rain on Thursday night, the rest of the event saw sunshine, drawing audiences to watch both competitors and guest wood carvers from around the world create intricate designs. This year’s event featured live music, food vendors, quick carve events, Family Day activities like outdoor games and balloon art, guest speakers, and, for the first time, a meet and greet session with the competitors.

“We’ve always been told that people wish they could talk to them a little more, especially now that a couple have been on TV. So, we have that.”

COMPETITORS FROM NEAR AND FAR

Since the event’s inception, chainsaw competitors from around the country have come to Eau Claire with their unique artistic chainsaw skills. One such competitor is Dawna Ceriani from Brockport, PA. Together with her husband, Ceriani has created and sold their unique and detailed works of art in a venture they have called T & D Carvings.

“This is my second trip here,” she said. “I just got intrigued with the art my husband did years ago, and then I’ve been doing it almost 24 years now.”

Others have had a much longer voyage to Eau Claire; one such competitor is Japan’s Takao Hayashi, who has been a frequent face at the Eau Claire championships.

“I’ve started coming here since 2012 and I’ve been coming here every summer since,” said Hayashi. “What got me interested was log houses. I used to be a log house builder, and I started playing around and creating animal carvings.”

Hayashi noted that, while Japan has a history of sculpture and carving, chainsaw carving only started in Japan within the last two decades thanks to its introduction by the United States.

Last year’s winner, Jake Rhodes of Burk’s Falls, ON, Canada, had a similar trigger in his interest in chainsaw carving.

“I got into carving about eight years ago, when I used to do logging in British Columbia. And then, I was able to start doing this full-time, and I have some friends in Wisconsin who are carvers, and I decided to come see them for a visit. They came here, and I got to see them. After that, I’ve been coming every year, so it’s been great and a lot of fun,” said Rhodes.

The carvings in this year’s competition need to adhere to the general theme of “wildlife,” and the competitors took very different paths on including the theme in their works.

“I’m making a pair of kingfishers,” said Welsh competitor Chris Wood, showing printed photos he was using as reference. “They’re European kingfishers, so they’re different to your native ones. These ones are bright orange; when they fly up the river, they’re like a shot of neon blue. They’re just amazing creatures.”

U.S. competitor Ceriani, however, went a very different route.

“I’m kind of going out of the box because I love doing tributes to our veterans,” she said while describing her piece. “I’m going to do a fallen soldier, and then I’m going to have wildlife around it with people.”

Incorporation of the given theme and the successful use of color (if paint is used) are some of the many elements that the competitors were judged on yesterday in Carson Park. One of those judges is Jeff Mohr of Oxford, Wis., who runs the Northwoods Carver website and YouTube channel, and was also one of the guest carvers on hand throughout the event.

“Every judge is a little different and you have to remove your biases,” explained Mohr. “So, what I like to see is interesting pieces. I like to see attention to detail.

“A lot of these guys have it in spades. And if they fall short, that’s where we ding them.”

STANDING OUT

With the myriad of yearly events that come to the Chippewa Valley, Dubuque said that the chainsaw championships remain a large draw, in part due to it being so unique.

“That’s one of the biggest reasons why we like it, is because it’s different for Eau Claire. We have an event unlike most others here in Eau Claire.”

Dubuque referred to the competitors as “legit talented artists” who have traveled globally to participate in various events. Before this year’s event began, some competitors shared with Dubuque the countries they had visited in order to showcase their work and compete.

“They go to these crazy places, and yet here they are in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and it almost doesn’t add up, but it’s cool that it adds up in a way. They love it here,” he said.

“Because it’s a fundraiser for the Chippewa Valley Museum, it’s (the competitors’) charity event, too. They come here because they know that it supports us. They could go many places to make all the money they want to make, but they come here because they know there’s a cause behind it.”

A special thank you to the Leader-Telegram’s Matthew Baughman for his photos and interviews included in this article.